The station was opened in 1901 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on the route from Fenchurch Street to Barking that was opened in 1858. It was known as West Ham (Manor Road) from 1924 to 1969. The station was rebuilt and significantly expanded in 1999 with the addition of four platforms, a new ticket hall and connecting passages. North London Line services were withdrawn in 2006 to make way for the DLR Stratford International branch, which opened in 2011.[9]

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway direct line from Bow to Barking was constructed east to west through the middle of the Parish of West Ham in 1858. Before this, trains took a longer route via Stratford and Forest Gate to the north. The new line opened with stations initially at Bromley, Plaistow and East Ham. In November 1897 Arnold Hills, the owner of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, whose football team Thames Ironworks F.C. (which reformed in 1900 as West Ham United) played at the Memorial Grounds, secured an agreement with the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway to build a station at the intersection of Manor Road and Memorial Avenue. The company board approved this in February 1898 and Mowlem's was given the contract to build a four platform station, which allowed for the proposed quadrupling of the line with the completion of the Whitechapel and Bow Railway. The station was completed in May 1900, but did not open until 1 February 1901. The station was initially known as West Ham.

The North London Railway had run a daily service to Plaistow via the Bow-Bromley curve since 18 May 1869 and when West Ham opened it used the northern platforms. In 1905 they switched to the southern platforms, with the opening of a new bay platform at Plaistow on the southern side.[10] The Whitechapel and Bow Railway allowed through services of the Metropolitan District Railway to operate through West Ham to Upminster from 1902. The Metropolitan District converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were cut back to East Ham. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway trains from Fenchurch Street used the southern platforms when the Metropolitan District services began but stopping was reduced to a few a week in 1908 and to nil in 1913. Ownership of the station passed to the Midland Railway in 1912 and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. The station was renamed West Ham (Manor Road) on 11 February 1924. When the North London Railway service to Plaistow ceased on 1 January 1916 the southern platforms were unused in normal service.

The Metropolitan District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line. Hammersmith & City line services started, as part of the Metropolitan line, in 1936. The southern platforms were removed after war damage in 1940 which had completely closed the station from 7 September 1940 until 11 August 1941.[11] After nationalisation of the railways in 1948 management of the station passed to British Railways. In 1969 ownership was transferred to the London Underground and the station was renamed back to West Ham on 1 January. On 15 March 1976 nine people were injured here by an explosion caused on a train by a member of the Provisional IRA. Julius Stephen, the driver of the train, was shot dead at the scene when he attempted to pursue the fleeing bomber.[12] In 1999 platforms were re-established on the line from Fenchurch Street, now operated by c2c.

The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was constructed north to south through West Ham, linking Stratford with Canning Town in 1846. Platforms were constructed on the line at West Ham in 1979 when the North London Line service, at the time known as the Crosstown Linkline, began between Camden Road and North Woolwich. In 1999 two further platforms were opened on the same alignment as part of the Jubilee line extension. At the same time the station buildings, ticket office and connecting passages were rebuilt, designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects. The ticket hall is linked by a bridge to four rail lines and a main road as well as the Jubilee line platform and upper level concourse.[13] Jubilee line services began on 14 May 1999.[14] North London Line services at the station ceased on 9 December 2006, when the line from Stratford to North Woolwich was closed, to allow for the line to be converted for Docklands Light Railway operation. The platforms reopened on 31 August 2011.

The station consists of four sets of island platforms, two on an elevated east-west alignment and another perpendicular pair at street level, giving a total of eight platform faces. Platforms 1 and 2 are the northern upper pair, where all District and Hammersmith & City line services call. Platforms 3 and 4 are the eastern lower pair and are used by Docklands Light Railway trains. Platforms 5 and 6 are the western lower pair, where all Jubilee line services stop. Platforms 7 and 8 are the southern upper pair and are used by c2c trains. The main station building and connecting passageways are finished in a mixture of red brick, concrete and glass. To reach the Docklands Light Railway and Jubilee line platforms from the rest of the station a mezzanine level is accessed by escalators, lifts and stairs. There is a double-ended centre siding east of West Ham to compensate for lost reversing capacity caused by the rebuilding of Whitechapel station as part of Crossrail work.[16] This was commissioned on 17 January 2011.[17]

The station was temporarily modified to allow it to cope with an increase in passenger numbers during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The station was extended to give direct pedestrian access to The Greenway foot and cycle path nearby from the District & Hammersmith & City lines, which connects directly to the London Olympic Park in Stratford. This involved the construction of temporary stairs and a walkway from the eastern end of the District line platforms, over the eastbound track and running back parallel to the platform ending at Manor Road. Construction began in January 2011, and the footbridge was removed in mid-October 2012. The foundations of the temporary footbridge have been left for possible use in future expansion of the station.[18]

The station is named after the former parish and borough of West Ham within which it was located to the west of the centre. The neighbourhood of West Ham is located some distance to the north-east. The station is located at the corner of Durban Road and Manor Road, in the London Borough of Newham. The area around the station is residential to the southeast and predominantly commercial or former industrial land to the north and west. The station site is served by London Bus route 276. Since West Ham United Football Club moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, the station is no longer located near their home ground. East London Rugby Football Club is situated nearby on Holland Road, which is also home to Kings Cross Steelers RFC and Phantoms RFC.[19]